Quantum secret sharing is an important way to achieve secure communications, which has critical applications in the field of information security for its physical properties. According to the perspective of the practical applications, improving the confidentiality and integrity of secret sharing schemes is a good method to increase the security and reliability of communications. In this paper, we propose a quantum secret sharing scheme based on generator matrix segmentation and the structural features of quantum graph states. The security of the secure secret sharing scheme is guaranteed by the pattern of transferring information by stabilizers, scalability of the information and new recovery strategy provided by the entanglement of the related graph states. It puts forward an effective solution to the problem of matrix cycle period, where some numbers without the primitive element cannot construct the generation matrix. First of all, the physical properties of quantum bits (qubits), such as uncertainty principle, no-cloning theorem and indistinguishability, not only optimize the classical schemes but also ensure the absolute safety of communication. Secondly, the application of matrix segmentation makes secret information has better scalability. It improves the coding diversity and the difficulty in deciphering. Thirdly, the favorable entanglement properties and mature experiment preparation techniques of graph states provide an approach to the practical applications. The superiority of the yielded graph states is described in graphical fashion with an elegant stabilizer. Fourthly, the shuffling operation can ensure the independence of the message among participants. Therefore, Eve can not obtain any useful information by measuring randomly. Two group-recovery protocols are proposed to show the secret recovering processing through rebuilding sub-secrets among legal cooperative participants. In the scheme design, the dealer extracts the classical secret information according to the corresponding principle between the classical and quantum information, and divides the classical secret through generated matrix which is produced with the primitive elements in finite domain satisfying the linear independence for any k column vectors. Then the dealer encodes information into graph states and distributes particles to the legal participants with unitary operations. Subsequently, the credible center obtains sub-secrets by the theory of graph states and the group recovery protocol. He can achieve the initial classical secret via the inverse algorithm of matrix segmentation. After getting the classical secret, he recovers quantum secret according to the relationship between classical information and quantum information. Theoretical analysis shows that this scheme can provide better security and scalability of the information. It is appropriate to realize the secret sharing in the quantum network communication to protect secrets from eavesdropping. Also, it can provide an approach to designing diverse and scalable quantum secure communication schemes based on quantum graph states, the algorithm of matrix segmentation, and group-recovery protocol.
Quantum secret sharing is an important way to achieve secure communications, which has critical applications in the field of information security for its physical properties. According to the perspective of the practical applications, improving the confidentiality and integrity of secret sharing schemes is a good method to increase the security and reliability of communications. In this paper, we propose a quantum secret sharing scheme based on generator matrix segmentation and the structural features of quantum graph states. The security of the secure secret sharing scheme is guaranteed by the pattern of transferring information by stabilizers, scalability of the information and new recovery strategy provided by the entanglement of the related graph states. It puts forward an effective solution to the problem of matrix cycle period, where some numbers without the primitive element cannot construct the generation matrix. First of all, the physical properties of quantum bits (qubits), such as uncertainty principle, no-cloning theorem and indistinguishability, not only optimize the classical schemes but also ensure the absolute safety of communication. Secondly, the application of matrix segmentation makes secret information has better scalability. It improves the coding diversity and the difficulty in deciphering. Thirdly, the favorable entanglement properties and mature experiment preparation techniques of graph states provide an approach to the practical applications. The superiority of the yielded graph states is described in graphical fashion with an elegant stabilizer. Fourthly, the shuffling operation can ensure the independence of the message among participants. Therefore, Eve can not obtain any useful information by measuring randomly. Two group-recovery protocols are proposed to show the secret recovering processing through rebuilding sub-secrets among legal cooperative participants. In the scheme design, the dealer extracts the classical secret information according to the corresponding principle between the classical and quantum information, and divides the classical secret through generated matrix which is produced with the primitive elements in finite domain satisfying the linear independence for any k column vectors. Then the dealer encodes information into graph states and distributes particles to the legal participants with unitary operations. Subsequently, the credible center obtains sub-secrets by the theory of graph states and the group recovery protocol. He can achieve the initial classical secret via the inverse algorithm of matrix segmentation. After getting the classical secret, he recovers quantum secret according to the relationship between classical information and quantum information. Theoretical analysis shows that this scheme can provide better security and scalability of the information. It is appropriate to realize the secret sharing in the quantum network communication to protect secrets from eavesdropping. Also, it can provide an approach to designing diverse and scalable quantum secure communication schemes based on quantum graph states, the algorithm of matrix segmentation, and group-recovery protocol.
Currently, quantum secret sharing (QSS) schemes based on entangled states have not yet fully utilized the potential of the probability amplitude of entangled states. However, the probability amplitude is a key characteristic of quantum information science and possesses significant application prospects in the fields of quantum computing and quantum communication. It is worth noting that entangled states can be effectively represented by matrix product states (MPSs). The representation of entangled states using MPS can precisely reveal the entanglement characteristics closely related to the probability amplitude. This study first focuses on the representation of the W state by using MPS, an approach that allows us to determine the key conditions for W state to achieve quantum advantage in QSS. Subsequently, this research demonstrates that by representing entangled states with MPS, a W state can be compressed into a single photon state and a simplified matrix form, presenting an innovative technical path. Moreover, one of the most attractive features of our proposed QSS scheme is its ability to compress multiple different quantum states (represented by photons) into a unified state represented by a single photon. This characteristic endows our scheme with scalability and flexibility, meaning that the group of participants can be easily expanded or reduced according to their specific needs. The addition of new participants is managed by Alice, who is responsible for the distribution of quantum state shares. On the other hand, when a participant leaves the group, their old quantum state share can be simply ignored in the process of recovering the secret's quantum state, thereby simplifying the management process. Through this strategy, we can not only make effective use of entangled resources but also meet the various requirements of the system, including but not limited to communication security, data transfer rates, and system scalability. This research provides new perspectives and possibilities for the field of quantum information science and may have a significant influence on the development of the field.
Quantum secret sharing (QSS), as a quantum extension of classical secret sharing, uses the basic principles of quantum mechanics to share information safely among multiple parties, providing a new paradigm for information security. As a key foundation for secure multiparty quantum communication and distributed quantum computing, QSS has attracted considerable attention since its emergence. Currently, research in this field includes both classical and quantum scenarios, and continuous progress has been made in both theoretical and experimental aspects. This paper first reviews the current development of QSS for classical information. In this regard, significant and parallel progress has been made in both discrete-variable QSS and continuous-variable QSS. The QSS protocols for sharing classical information, from entangled states to single photons and then to coherent light, have been continuously optimized to better utilize available resources and achieve more efficient implementation under current technological conditions. Meanwhile, round-robin, measurement-device-independent, and other protocols have been steadily improving the security of QSS. Next, one will focus on QSS scheme for quantum secrets, which begins with the symmetry of access structures and introduces basic (k, n) threshold protocols, dynamic schemes that support adaptive agent groups, and symmetric quantum information splitting through entanglement. It further introduces hierarchical quantum secret sharing schemes for asymmetric splitting of quantum information. Considering practical laboratory conditions of quantum states as resources, an overall discussion is conducted on quantum secret sharing with graph states. Afterwards, the design of a continuous-variable scheme for quantum secret sharing is outlined, and entanglement state sharing and quantum teleportation between multiple senders and receivers are introduced. Finally, this review discusses and outlines the future development directions of QSS, thereby inspiring readers to further study and explore the relevant subjects.
Abstract At present, most quantum secret sharing (QSS) protocols are more or less designed with the incorporation of classical secret sharing schemes. With the increasing maturity of quantum technology, QSS protocols based on pure quantum mechanics are becoming more important. Classical secret sharing schemes cannot achieve absolute security, and their involvement can compromise the security of QSS protocols. This paper proposes a QSS scheme based on Greenberger–Horn–Zeilinger (GHZ) basis measurement and quantum entanglement exchange. In this protocol, the secret sender stores the secret information using Pauli operations. Participants obtain their shares by measuring the product state sequentially. Finally, participants complete the secret reconstruction through quantum entanglement exchange and other related quantum operations. In addition, the particles held by participants in the protocol do not contain any secret information. Each participant’s particles are in a state of maximum entanglement, and no participant can deduce the particle information of other participants through their own particles. At the same time, the protocol is based on pure quantum mechanics and does not involve classical schemes, which avoids the problem of reduced security of the protocol. Security analysis indicates that the protocol is not vulnerable to retransmission interception and collusion attacks. Moreover, it is capable of detecting and terminating the protocol promptly when facing with attacks from dishonest participants.
Abstract Quantum secret sharing (QSS) has significant potential to improve secure communications. However, conventional QSS protocols, typically based on (n, n) or (t, n) threshold structures, require participants to possess symmetric authority, which is often impractical. To address scenarios with participants holding asymmetric privileges, we propose an innovative QSS scheme that realizes a hypergraph structure. This enables secret recovery only for authorized sets with the appropriate privileges. In detail, a specialized hypergraph structure is investigated to construct d-dimensional multipartite entangled states. Using these states, we develop an authenticated QSS protocol that enables secret recovery by authorized sets. Security analysis confirms the protocol’s resilience against common attacks, including intercept-resend, entangle-measure, dishonest participant and Trojan horse attacks. We further characterize the distinct impacts of dit-flip, phase-flip, dit-phase-flip, and depolarizing noise channels on quantum state transmission within the protocol. This characterization demonstrates that dynamically adapting error probability threshold according to prevailing noise conditions is essential to maintain security. Compared with existing protocols, our scheme improves quantum efficiency and reduces the number of unitary operations, which enhances its experimental feasibility.
Quantum secret sharing (QSS) is a cryptographic protocol that utilizes fundamental principles of quantum mechanics to securely distribute and reconstruct secret information among multiple participants. Most existing protocols rely on entangled states (such as Bell and GHZ states), but in practical applications. The preparation of entangled state is constrained by a short quantum coherence time, low state fidelity, etc., which makes it difficult to implement entangled resource-dependent QSS protocols. In this work, a novel practical and verifiable multi-party QSS protocol is proposed based on orthogonal product states, which are easier to prepare than entangled states. During the protocol preparation stage, the secret distributor first converts pre-shared classical secret information into the corresponding orthogonal product states according to the encoding rules, and pre-shares a communication key with participants via quantum key distribution (QKD), which is used to hide the initial quantum sequence information through subsequent particle transformation operations. After preparing the orthogonal product states, the distributor reorganizes the particles by position, extracting particles at the same position from each state to form new sequences, shuffling their order, then applying Hadamard operations using a pre-shared key, inserting decoy particles, and sending the sequences to the participants. After receiving it, participants conduct eavesdropping detection, use the same key for the inverse transformations, retain one particle from each sequence, and sequentially pass the remaining particles until the last participant receives a complete set, triggering state verification with the arbiter distributor. If the verification is successful, the particles will be returned to the first participant and the return stage will follow the same procedure. Only after both the transmission and return stage verifications have passed, will the distributor reveal the initial particle positions, allowing participants to collaboratively reconstruct the secret. In the protocol, the secret distributor acts as an arbitrator to verify the particle state information together with participants at designated points (the end of the transmission stage and the end of the return stage) in order to determine whether the particle-state information is error-free during transmission. If the verification fails at either stage, the protocol will be terminated immediately. Meanwhile, considering that the number of participants may change during the execution of the protocol, a dynamic scheme for personnel changes is designed to ensure the flexibility of the protocol. Through the analysis of possible internal and external attacks, It can be proven that our protocol can effectively resist the existing common attack. Using Qiskit simulation experiments, the core quantum procedures of the protocol can be successfully modeled. The experimental results provide strong computational validation of the theoretical feasibility of the protocol.
A d-dimensional quantum state secret sharing scheme without entanglement is proposed. In the proposed scheme, the dealer generates a single quantum state in d-dimensional Hilbert space, and performs the Pauli unitary operation on the quantum state according to the private keys of the participants. In the recovery phase, each participant performs the Pauli operation on the quantum state according to his private key, and the last participant will recover the original quantum state. Compared to the existing quantum secret sharing schemes, the main contribution of the proposed scheme is that the quantum state can be shared without the entanglement, so the sharing of the quantum state is more practical.